Guardian Force Garden
by axelkairi
Summary: A series of interwoven drabbles starring the GFs as Cadets, SeeDs, and Instructors. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1: Que

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII.**

A/N: Phew, well, I had this idea while reading Three Minutes Too Fast by cerespallas (great fic, read it) because, in her fic, she has the GFs talk sometimes, and that got me thinking about their individual characters and everything, and then I started planning, and then I got into it and I planned for like 5-6 hours, and here's the result! Sadly, I don't expect that this will get very popular =( Prove me wrong? Reviews are love! Anyway, let's give this a go! Hope you like!

P.S.: A few things to know about this story. One: The chapters won't be too long each, because every chapter is told from a different point of view. Sometimes a chapter will only be one scene. It also helps me if I want to continue this to have short chapters, so I can just do 'em whenever =P. Two: This all has a kinda loose-weaved storyline in it somewhere, but mostly it's a bunch of drabbles about these different characters and drama and friendships and inner struggles. Just having fun =) Anyway!

**Guardian Force Garden**

**Chapter One**

-Quezacotl-

I'd been with Winhill Garden since its foundation, and honestly, it's hard to remember where I had been before it. I hadn't had much in my life, nothing truly worth remembering, but I always remembered the lightning. Brilliant flashes of light dancing across my eyes, piercing through wet darkness, and the resounding thunder, like a low roar, as if daring anyone to take it on. Storms were where I always felt at home, and the fairly unpredictable weather of Winhill was perfect for me.

The Garden stood not too far from the town – about halfway between Winhill itself and the old Desert Prison – and looked, I guess, as normal as any of the other Gardens. A huge dome-shaped building the color of the surrounding forests, sandy desert colors creeping up here and there. The roof would dip in, then come out and dip in again to create layers where the various floors were, looking kind of like a honeycomb, and the top curved backwards into a structure that resembled a shark's fin. It wasn't much – it didn't have the technology of Esthar's Garden, and the Festivals could never be on par with that of Trabia; we used more traditional methods or combat than Galbadia, and we didn't have any legendary SeeDs like Balamb – but it was great, and it was home.

Well, I guess I can't really say 'great' without cringing a bit. Never been a good liar.

Let's backtrack, so you can really see what I see.

At eighteen, I'm still a Cadet in the Garden with a roomie and all. Ifrit sleeps on the other side of the room, and has a thing for waking up at 7am to go work out, when classes don't even begin until 9am, and when I wake up I can_not_ get back to sleep, so I lay awake for at least an hour before finally sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and standing, turning my alarm off early. Silly that I still set it, since every morning is the same.

But today… My mornings got a wake-up call.

I went through the routine, washing my blond hair and letting it dry how it would, blinking tiredly at my mirror, staring into my own green eyes as I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on whatever I'd laid out and pushed myself through the door. I had to check in with Minotaur to see if he had anything for me to do before I went to my classes.

The central hallway was hexagonal, shaping around the elevator and spiral staircase in the middle of the building. The dorms let out immediately to the central hall, and I lugged myself down the few steps, tossing my head up so I didn't run into anyone.

And stopped still.

Before me stood a woman, a few inches shorter than me perhaps, with long red hair tied up in a black silken bow at the back of her head. My eyes traveled her up and down at least six times – she wore black shoes, black thigh-high tights underneath a wispy brown skirt, with a cream-colored blouse resting above. She turned, and I saw she carried a clipboard and was tapping the cap of a pen against her lips, looking around her like she was searching for something.

Her eyes, wide with curiosity and confusion, were shaded a fiery red-orange, and her lips colored to match the deep scarlet of her hair. The milky color of her skin was of such a contrast that it nearly made her look like she was engulfed in flames, like some sort of goddess in a vision. Hyne, I'd never seen someone like her before.

I had to know her.

"Excuse me," I started, putting on my perfect smile that had welcomed many a troubled guest or new student.

She turned fully toward me and blinked, then smiled, looking slightly relieved. "Hello," she said in a sigh.

"Seems like you're looking for something."

"I am," she replied, holding her clipboard for me to see, then seemed to catch herself. "Oh, sorry; I'm Phoenix."

She held out her hand, and I took it, unable to miss the healing warmth that seeped from her touch. "Quezacotl," I choked out. "Que for short."

Grinning at the nickname, she leaned in close to show me what she'd written. "I scribbled down some things they told me on the phone… I'm the new Nurse, and your Infirmary is so hard to find!"

Her words were lost to me along with my ability to breathe at the scent of her perfume. "Y-Yeah, things can be confusing around here your first few days. It gets easier, though. Do you want me show you how to get there?"

Another brightening smile lit up her face. "That'd be wonderful; thank you."

We'd only begun to walk down the hall before a voice called after us. "Miss Phoenix! You've arrived!"

Phoenix turned around to see Pandemona, the office aid, jogging toward us, papers in her hands. She smiled when she reached us and stopped, trying to let her heavy breathing show. "Miss Phoenix, my name's Pandemona," she introduced, shaking Phoenix's hand. "The Headmaster would like to see you as soon as possible, and then you can get situated."

"Of course," Phoenix said, then looked over her shoulder at me. "Looks like I'll have to take a rain check on that tour, Que."

I waved my hand and started to say it was fine, but Pandemona cut me off. "You were showing her around? Oh, well, Minotaur can arrange for something after the meeting. The only person who knows this place better than Quezacotl is the Headmaster himself!" she assured Phoenix, then tossed a smile my way. "I'll have her back before you know it."

"No rush," I reassured, and with one last grin from Phoenix, the two were rushing down the hall for the elevator.

A little insight on Pandemona – she was five foot seven with purple hair and purple eyes, and still a Cadet at age twenty-one. The reason? She'd never been much of a fighter. The rank Cadet was really only a formality when it came to her – she had more of a job than the rest of us. She worked with Minotaur in Headmaster Odin's office, keeping everything running at top speed. She was the face of the Garden when Headmaster Odin was too busy, while Minotaur took a more backstage angle and kept records and sent people on errands and things like that.

And guess who was number one errand boy? Yours truly.

Well, if Headmaster Odin was having a meeting, then Minotaur was definitely occupied. _I guess errands will have to wait 'till later, then,_ I thought, and resumed plodding along the hall toward the classrooms.

But Hyne… If Pandemona really _did_ set something up with Phoenix, even if it was something as simple as a tour, I'd owe her big time.

_Come off it,_ the more rational side of me said. _How old is she…? Twenty-four? Twenty-five? Out of your league by a long shot._

I grimaced. It was true. What chance did I have? And why was I getting so worked up over this, anyway? I'd only known her for, what, two minutes?

"Hey, Que!"

The voice made my stomach plummet. Tonberry.

The Cadet was a five foot four demon with teal hair to her hips and red eyes. She walked up to me in that walk that she had, something that would've been a saunter if it wasn't so model-esque. Demon as she was, it was hard not to look twice.

She stood on the rise of the walkway until her eyes were level with mine and appeared to be searching for something. Finally, she smirked. "You like her."

I blinked, and stepped away. "W-What? Who?"

Tonberry rolled her eyes and stepped back down, staying close to me. "That woman you were talking to; Phoenix, is it? The new Nurse we're supposed to get?"

I furrowed my brow. "How do you know about her? I hadn't heard anything…"

"I know about all the new competition before they even come into the game," she stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Competition?"

Her smirk returned and she came up close to me, her hand on my shoulder and her eyes staring into mine. "But she's hardly any competition, right? Not between _us_."

Lips so close, and I could feel the heat from her body. "There is no _us_, Berry," I retorted, stepping away again and turning to face the classrooms. "I'm going to be late for class."

"Suit yourself," she sang, stepping backwards and onto the rise once again, walking heel-to-toe along it. "But remember: I'm always watching."

My eyes narrowed and I shook my head, as if to shake off her warning. I forced my legs to carry me forward and left her behind.

That girl… She had issues that most couldn't even speak of. How many people was she sleeping with now? And at sixteen? And now she was trying to add me to the list. I huffed, insulted that she would think me so weak.

The classroom door slid open, and already I could feel the normalcy beginning to creep up again and envelop me in lethargy. Shiva and Ifrit were at our usual table, and next to Shiva sat Siren, a newer addition to our group.

Ifrit looked awake and refreshed, his red eyes shining and his red hair slightly damp from sweat. He had the beginnings of a tan, and I wondered if he'd started running outside lately instead of just on treadmills.

Shiva looked her average self: blue hair down her back and big blue eyes, her skin an icy pale. Beside her, Siren had her blonde hair in a braid and bangs framing her soft face and dark green eyes. She seemed sweet, but I hadn't spent much time with her, mostly because I didn't understand the way she communicates. See, she's mute, and speaks through gestures and facial expression and sometimes by moving her lips in the shapes of words. Shiva is the best at figuring it out, and can carry out a conversation almost flawlessly, but Ifrit and I are still learning.

My friends greeted me like any other day, and Instructor Alexander began his lesson the same way he always had. Only I knew the significance of this particular morning. Today, I met Phoenix.


	2. Chapter 2: Berry

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII.**

A/N: Well, here we go! Changed the rating to T, but the rating might go back up to M again as the story goes on, we'll see. If that happens, all you T readers out there, I'll just make the lemons skippable =) Well, I don't really have much else to say, so here it goes! Hope you like!

**Guardian Force Garden**

**Chapter Two**

-Tonberry-

Que was so cute, trying to avoid me. I'd figured it would be fun to ruin him like I was ruining Alexander – because that was just the highlight of my life right now – but now that he'd found Phoenix… Maybe I could ruin him in a different way. An indirect way. He was already on the track, I just had to give him a few shoves along the way.

He would've been too difficult, anyway, and it would've gotten boring. He didn't have far enough to fall, despite how good everyone thought he was.

But Alexander… Now that was a game I wasn't going to lose anytime soon. He had the longest way to fall, and the most precarious standing. An Instructor and a Priest. And now, a rapist.

Just the thought made me laugh. What irony! And all because of me.

His class seemed to last forever, but finally the students were filling the halls. I saw Que walk by, with Ifrit and Shiva and Siren. Those three… Ifrit, the fiery one, always getting in fights with Diablos. He'd be seeing Phoenix soon, and Que would get jealous… That could be fun to mess with. Shiva, the icy one, figure skating at all hours of the night like she was some sort of ice princess. Diablos had a thing for her, and it disgusted me; what could he possibly see in her? She was too nice. He'd get bored soon, I assured myself. And then Siren, the poor little girl who couldn't speak. She was always making googly eyes at Ifrit, but he was too thick-headed to notice.

Watching her, I felt my lips curl into a smile. Maybe she just needed a little push. I could play matchmaker for a bit, sure. After all, I'd rather have her with someone dumb like Ifrit than fair game and, in that sense, competition for me.

But that would have to wait. Right then, I had a date with a fallen angel.

The door was left open after the last student exited, and I took that moment to slip inside soundlessly. Alexander had his back to me, organizing things in his file cabinet, his gorgeous snow white hair falling in perfect straight lines down to the nape of his neck. His collared white shirt hid a stunning all-over tan and perfect muscles that I'd had memorized for two weeks now. At six foot, he was eight inches taller than me, but that didn't matter.

A smile on my lips, I clicked the lock on the door and made my way toward my priest, wrapping my arms around his waist when I reached him. I felt him tense under my touch, and he stopped what he was doing.

"Berry, not now," he said, his voice quiet, but I hear the effort it took in him to speak.

"Now's as good a time as any," I reasoned, pressing myself close. "I missed you."

"I didn't miss you," he snapped, closing the file drawer and stepping out of my arms, and walked to his desk, busying himself with sorting papers.

I pouted, standing at the other side of his desk and putting my palms down on the cool surface. "You're just saying that to hurt me."

Alexander paused, then let out a sigh. "I don't mean to hurt you, Berry, but really…"

I raised an eyebrow and sauntered around the desk until I stood beside him. "Really…?" I prompted.

His expression hardened. "You're a young girl, and you shouldn't be wasting your time with me."

"It's not a waste of time," I argued.

"You know what I mean!" he exclaimed, then caught himself. He opened his mouth to speak again, but I cut off and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward until his arm was stretched out before him, and twirled back into him, my back to his chest, his hands in mine and his arms around me.

"I know what you're thinking, Alexander," I purred, my lips at his neck. "Don't worry about it. No one has to know…" He leaned his head down and, taking advantage, I captured his lips with mine, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him better.

He broke away. "Stop tempting me," he muttered, but I was kissing him again, and he didn't resist, answering my every movement. I knew I had him, and turned in his arms, putting my hands on his shoulders as his came to my back.

For two weeks now, he'd tried to resist me. For two weeks, he'd been unable to. And as his shirt flew open, exposing that beautiful chest, and he pushed me up against his desk, I knew that this would be lasting much longer than two weeks.


	3. Chapter 3: Diablos

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII.**

A/N: Getting the story started! Mostly these first beginning chapters will be setting the scene and getting to know the characters and what's going on with whom. Hope you guys are liking so far! I'm establishing some pretty strong characters, and I hope you can kind of envision the GFs as the characters I've thought of. Like, Tonberry for instance? Probably hard to imagine that cute little thing being an evil slutty demon girl, right? But trust me, much thought went into each character (five hours of planning, let me tell ya) and it all works out wonderfully. Well, here goes the next chapter! Hope you like!

**Guardian Force Garden**

**Chapter Three**

-Diablos-

Being a SeeD wasn't nearly as rigid as I'd always thought it would be. It was _liberating_. Missions were seldom, and normally only the hardcore SeeDs with too much time on their hands ever went for them, leaving the ones like me who had much better things to do, for the same salary. Much better things to do… More specifically, _one_ thing to do:

Shiva.

The girl was everything that I wasn't: friendly, a hard worker, beautiful, thoughtful; whereas I was a rough, dark, straightforward slacker. Maybe it was Berry's influence, maybe it was that whole opposites-attract thing people talked about all the time, maybe it was just some sort of conquest – the bad guy gets the good girl and corrupts her. Who knew?

The door to my left opened and out walked Berry in all her green-haired, short glory. _Speak of the devil,_ I thought. Quite literally at that. The little thing was a tiny demon, hell-bent on creating discord and chaos wherever she went.

And coming out of Alexander's classroom, I knew immediately what kind of chaos she had been stirring up.

"When are you gonna dump your boyfriend?" I called after her since she hadn't noticed me.

Berry turned around and, upon catching sight of me, smirked and came over. "Why do you keep asking that when you know the answer will be the same?" she replied. "Never. I love him." She said the three words with relish, rolling the 'l' on her tongue like sugar.

I scoffed. "You don't love. You're_ obsessed_ with him."

She tossed her hand. "Love, obsession… How different are the two, really?" Turning on her heel, she threw a smile over her shoulder. "Besides, you're hardly one to talk. You have a little obsession of your own."

I rolled my eyes as she giggled and walked away, that bounce in her step that she always had after a visit with one of her toys.

Hmm… What did I have to do today? I could bother Alexander and question him about the existence of Hyne – he was a priest, "offering guidance to any who desire it". And he actually believed it all! Heck, Hyne wasn't up there for us to worship; He was a goal. He was something to reach, something to surpass. If one could surpass Hyne, well… they could achieve anything.

A flash of black caught my eye and I sidestepped out the hallway, catching sight of Cerberus.

How to describe Cerberus… His color scheme was almost entirely black. Black hair, almost a dusty black, hung in haphazard waves on his head. His eyes were brown, just a few shades above his hair color, and his skin was the pale in the contrast.

And he had three personalities.

They all had different names, but they were kinda similar: Vayu, Vanhi, and Varja. He told me that the names meant something, but I can't remember. Vayu's the nice one, the boring one, the one that all the other SeeDs and even some Cadets are friends with. He's quiet, but not unsociable. Then Vanhi, the fiery one, all passion and fights and yelling. He can be kinda awkward with words, but overall is alright. Annoys me most of the time.

And Varja, the fun one. He… switches. It's the best way to describe what he does. He changes emotions as fast as someone snaps their fingers. Once second he's totally boring and tired, and the next he's running around; he's furious – which is scary when it comes to him – and then just as suddenly, he's calm. He's just sudden, about everything.

Which one was he today, I wondered. I stepped forward, raising my hand to get his attention. "Hey, Varja!"

He took a moment to lift his eyes, then blinked and turned to me. Realization dawned on his face, and he shook his head. "Vayu," he replied.

"Ah." I dropped my head, nodding. "Well, when you're Varja, come find me. We'll chill."

He let his eyes fall and turned back to wherever he was going. "Maybe. If I remember."

I frowned as he walked away. What a lame excuse. It's not like he had some sort of memory problem; he remembered everything when he woke up. He just woke up some mornings as a different person.

But suddenly I didn't care what 'Vayu' was doing, because my attention was stolen by the ice princess down the hall.

I could feel the smirk grow on my lips before I was even aware of smiling. _Shiva…_

She was checking the bulletin board, that thoughtful expression on her face again, the one I liked. I bit the side of my lip and sidled up next to her. "Hey, babe," I greeted.

Shiva jumped and turned her head, but the surprise dimmed from her face once she laid eyes on me. She sighed. "Diablos," she replied.

"Why so cold?" I looped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I'd like to think we're friends."

"Oh, we're _much_ less than that," she said, shrugging away from me.

Before she could walk away, I spun around and slammed my palms against the wall, trapping her between my arms. She blinked, her eyes going wide, before she sighed again. "Diablos, I don't have time for this," she snapped.

"Please, you're a teenage girl with a hot, older guy vying for your affections; what could possibly be more important?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Unlike you, I have classes in which I learn how to be a functioning member of society instead of a lame pick-up artist. And you're not as hot as you think you are."

Damn, I loved it when she teased me. "On the contrary, I'll be melting away that ice soon enough." With that, I stepped back, letting her go.

I didn't miss the half-smile she tossed at me over her shoulder. "That's if you can get close enough."

Smirking back, I replied, "I plan on being very close."

She shook her head – still smiling – and walked away, books in hand. Man, she was irritating, smart, beautiful, and a headache. A gorgeous painting with a terrible price.

Well, no matter the price, she will be mine. I won't rest until she says she loves me.


End file.
